Virginia Has Slight
Increase in Mental Health Funding for FY 2012, but a Long History of
Underfunding Continues; Medicaid is Part of the Squeeze

Virginia
increased its spending slightly on mental health care for fiscal year (FY)
2012, according to a national report issued by the National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NAMI). But the $8 million increase
represents only a 0.2 percent increase over the previous year.

Unfortunately, an
increase of less than one half of one percent isn’t enough to make up for cuts
in previous years.

From
FY 2009 to FY 2012, Virginia cut an overall total of $37.7 million or 8.9
percent from mental health care.

By
comparison, North Dakota, provided the greatest increase proportionally among
all the states in its mental health budget (48.1 percent) for the same four
year period..

NAMI Virginia Calls
on State Officials to Address Widespread Problem of “Streeting”

Virginia’s Office of the Inspector General’s recently
released report contains troubling information about a practice known as
“streeting” where persons with serious mental illness are released to the
streets, even though they meet the criteria for a Temporary Detention Order
(TDO), because of a lack of acute inpatient hospital beds or other acceptable
services or treatment that can be provided to the person. The report found that
approximately 200 individuals were “streeted” between April 1, 2010 and March
31, 2010 throughout the Commonwealth. Approximately twenty three of Virginia’s
forty community services boards acknowledged that “streeting” had occurred in
their agencies.

“Families and people in need of acute care
services endure difficulty accessing these types of services. It’s a well-known
problem that is apparently not being addressed satisfactorily. Letting the
situation get to this point makes no sense.” stated Mira Signer, Executive
Director of NAMI Virginia, an organization that represents adults and children
with serious mental illness and their families. Click here to continue reading the press release